


Cards

by Aninvisiblekat



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Aobajousai, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/F, F/M, Karasuno, Nekoma, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Reader-Insert, Shiratorizawa, reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:20:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aninvisiblekat/pseuds/Aninvisiblekat
Summary: [Haikyuu x Reader] [One Shots] It's kind of insulting when your love life can be summed up by a 7 by 12 cm piece of cardstock.
Kudos: 2





	1. 0 - The Fool [Nishinoya Yuu]

You were involved in many of the firsts in Nishinoya Yuu’s life. His first girl-friend, his first day of school. The first time he got in trouble was with you, scared out of his wits as a teacher reprimanded the two of you for straying too far from the group at recess (you had told him later it was because you were on an adventure, his first in that department as well). You walked to school and back with him for the first time without any adult supervision. His first volleyball game, where he found, with adrenaline coursing through his veins and beads of sweat running down his face, that he rather enjoyed playing as libero, was spent with you attentively watching him from the side of the court. You had been his first kiss, an awkward, stiff peck on the lips (sort of, he’d kind of missed), which left the taste of sweet lip balm behind. 

So maybe, with all of that being said, it was obvious that you’d be his first love as well. Nishinoya had always known you were pretty, but the flipping in his stomach had started only in his second year of middle school. Whenever he thought of you his heart would thrum a little faster in his chest, and whenever you shot a small smile in his direction he’d turn red. 

There was just _one_ issue. It had been a year. _An entire year_. And he’d been unable to do anything. Every time he thought of telling you how he felt, his breathing turned shallow and his mouth dried. How was he supposed to tell you anything when he couldn’t even put a cohesive thought together? 

No, he had to. He had to speak up before the end of the year. Soon the two of you would be going off to high school, and while he knew you’d been considering going to Karasuno, what if the two of you got separated? What if you ended up going somewhere else and he never saw you again? He obviously needed to make sure you found out how he felt. 

“Noya?” You glanced at your companion while the two of you waited at a crosswalk. Your skirt and hair moved with every car that passed, and Nishinoya found himself mesmerized by your hair as it flew up in the manufactured breeze. “Are you alright?” 

“Perfectly fine!” His response was quick, and maybe too enthusiastic even for him, but if you noticed it you don’t say anything. “Why? Is there something wrong?” 

“No you just seem,” you paused to think as the light changed, “quiet.” 

“Well I’m alright!” He sent you a wide grin as the two of you crossed the street. “I was wondering what we should do tomorrow.”

You shrugged, smiling in his direction. “I’m fine with anything. It’s really more about spending time together, right?” 

He turned his quickly reddening face away from you, towards the shops and buildings across the road. _Tomorrow, I’ll tell her tomorrow._

Yeah no, he was entirely fucked. 

~~~

 _This will be fine. This will be fine. This will be fine._ Nishinoya repeats it in his head with every step to your house, but before he can fully convince himself, he’s standing on your doorstep. The hesitant knock on the door is enough to send his heart into a quicker tempo, and by the time you _open_ the door, it’s beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings. 

You look cute. You always do, but it’s nice to see you out of the school’s uniform. 

“Noya,” you greet him with a smile and a nod in his direction. 

He snaps to attention, “hi [Name]-chan! Are you ready to go?” 

“Sure,” you turn back to say goodbye to whoever’s in the house before stepping out, closing the door behind yourself. “Where to today?” 

“I didn’t have any plan, I thought we could go on an adventure.” He wonders if his idea sounds stupid as the words leave his mouth. Maybe he should have planned something, maybe something romantic that would make you want to say yes to his confession.

“That sounds fun.” You shoot him a wide smile, and Nishinoya swears he can see your eyes sparkle in the late-morning light. You seem suddenly more energetic, and before Noya says anything else you grab his wrist, taking off down the street. “Come on! Miyagi’s a big prefecture, and there were some new shops I wanted to check out!” 

Once again, your hair is flowing behind you, almost hitting him in the face, but the boy can’t find it in his heart to be annoyed as he hurries to match your pace, shifting your grip on his wrist until his hand is clasped in yours. “Slow down [Name]-chan!” He suddenly has just as much energy as you, and as his heart skips another beat as he glances to the side of your face, only to see that the smile hasn’t fallen. 

Nishinoya can’t keep track of all the places you go, and he doubts you’d be able to either. The two of you flit up and down streets, occasionally stopping in a shop that catches your eye. You take turns onto roads you’ve never been down before, despite going on similar adventures before. Any place that interests either one of you is reason enough to turn around or divert your path, and the boy wonders if there even are any more streets in the city that you _haven’t_ been down. 

You stop at a new restaurant for a late lunch, and Noya wonders if this goes well, if after today you don’t hate him forever, you’d like to go back again (maybe as a date if he’s _really_ lucky). He _thinks_ , in the blur of bright colors and sounds, and the overall sensory overload, that the two of you went to an arcade. It’s only when the sky begins to darken and shops begin to close that either of you think to go home. After a trip to the boba shop. 

That’s good, right? If you say no and Noya is left [Name]-less, maybe he’ll choke on a boba pearl and it will put him out of his misery. You’re quiet on the walk home, probably tired from the busy day. The only sounds that can be heard between the two of you is the rhythmic pattern of footsteps, and you walk close together, nearly touching. 

“That was really fun.” Your voice is soft. 

“Yeah.” It’s now or never. The boy clears his throat, attempting to get rid of the dryness to no avail, mind running quickly. “[Name]?” 

“Yeah?” 

He _almost_ backs out. Almost. He clenches his hands, determined. This may be it. This may be your last few minutes as friends, but at the very least he’ll be able to get this off of his chest. Any attempted preparations are thrown to the side as he opens his mouth once more. 

“[Name]-chan, I really like you. A lot. Like, I have feelings for you. And it’s not just as a friend. You’re really pretty and nice and fun to go on adventures with. I was really happy when you said you were going to Karasuno because I really love spending time with you and walking to school together, even when we sometimes get distracted.” He trails off, taking a deep breath as he tries to think of what to say now. 

You speak up before he can continue rambling. “Really?” You don’t sound disgusted. Actually, despite knowing you for years, Noya’s not sure _what_ you sound like. 

“Really.” He holds his breath as he looks at your expression, but instead of seeing annoyance or disgust you just look surprised. _Is that good or bad?_

“Oh, yeah, um,” you’re slowly turning red. “I really like you too.” 

You’re staring intently at your drink, while Noya tries to suppress a huge smile from breaking out across his face. Tension leaves his shoulders, and though his heart is still beating abnormally fast, his breathing becomes more normal. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” You finally look up, smiling in his direction as the two of you turn onto your street. 

In his head, Nishinoya’s dancing around and celebrating like an idiot. Externally he throws his arms around you, nearly knocking you both off balance. He can’t see your face, but the boy can feel you wrap your arms around him in return. 

He walks you the rest of the way home, stopping in front of your door.

“Would you go out with me? Next weekend? As a date?” The last part is hastily tacked on, the last thing Noya wants is for you to get the wrong impression, even after he’s confessed. 

“I’d love to.” 

What’s he supposed to do now? He’s seen movies where people kiss after the first date, but this isn’t a first date, is it? Apparently he doesn’t have to figure it out, because before he can do anything you’re leaning forward to press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Goodnight Noya.” 

“Night [Name]!” 

After you close the door he turns around, nearly jumping off your front step in excitement. You’d said you liked him too! He feels like he could shout with excitement, but he has the _dignity_ to at least wait until he’s a few houses down. 

You were involved in many of Nishinoya’s “firsts”, but now, to add on to the list, you were his first girlfriend. 

> 0 - The Fool: New beginnings, possibilities, innocence, adventure


	2. I - The Magician [Yamaguchi Tadashi]

There’s something admirable about Yamaguchi Tadashi, although it takes you an unfortunately long amount of time to figure that out. In your defense, he doesn’t seem like much at first glance. He’s in your class, and you know he hangs around that tall blonde, and that he wears a volleyball jacket. He’s kind of cute (if you’re into the shy, nerdy-type), with freckles dotted across his cheeks and hair that sort of sticks up, but otherwise nothing about him really stands out. 

It’s really only by chance that you ever wind up noticing the boy anyways. Despite telling your mother that Shimada Mart was closed, she’d tossed some money at you and begged you to go get some eggs from the nearby shop between resigned replies to her mother through the phone. You’d taken pity on her, of course you had. Your family would be coming over for an impromptu visit, and those always set your entire household off-kilter. 

The walk to the store is short, though the long shadows and dark storefronts make you wary. You hear the sound of crickets, and the scraping of your own shoes against the ground, and the part of your brain that provided intrusive, scary thoughts wonders what you would do if all of a sudden you heard another pair of shoes tapping against the pavement behind you. 

Your heart nearly stops as you approach the convenience store, fear that the intrusive side of your brain has finally been right about something rising to your throat to make breathing more difficult. The sound you hear isn’t footsteps, you don’t think. It’s too erratic to be someone walking. 

It takes a second to pinpoint the location of the sound, but when you do you nearly groan. _Of course_ , it’s coming from the alley next to the store you're supposed to enter. 

Maybe it’ll be okay. You can go up to the door, see that it isn’t unlocked, then quickly turn around and run back home. Whoever was in the alley wouldn’t notice. Or, maybe, if whoever it was _did_ notice, they’ll kill you and you won’t have to spend the next week or two listening to passive aggressive family time. 

You shake it off, dashing quickly past the alley to the front of the store, which is predictably dark. With a small frown, you turn on your heel, making your way past the alley once more, this time with less caution. 

“I’m sorry!” The voice is familiar, but before you can ponder where you’ve heard it before, a ball flies out of the alleyway, nearly hitting you. 

“What?” Is all you can manage, your brain sluggish. 

“S-sorry!” Yamaguchi’s face becomes visible to you in the small amount of light filtering into the alleyway. He’s red, although whether that’s from embarrassment or something else you’re not quite sure.

One look at the ball in front of you brings you to some sort of epiphany. He must have been practicing, although an alley is a rather odd place to practice volleyball. How bad must he be, to be practicing in such an obscured manner, late at night in a dark alleyway. Realizing his gaze is on the object in your hands, you toss it back to him before turning around and heading back in the direction you’d come from. 

~~~

A sympathetic look to your brother is the only repentance you give before putting your shoes on and heading outside. The sun is setting over the horizon, and the silence of the street provides an immediate tranquility. You wander aimlessly down the familiar streets, not keen on returning to the loud, young children, or passively irritated adults. 

Once again you hear sounds coming from the alley behind the convenience store: the scuffling of shoes, the bouncing of a ball, quiet muttering. 

You should probably turn back around; you shouldn’t stay out too late. Regardless, your attention turns to the darkness, where you know Yamaguchi is practicing. 

“Oh, [Name]-san,” you realize you’re obstructing some of the light, and you try to move out of the way. 

You wave, but the two of you are quickly blanketed in an awkward silence. It’s only when you hear someone clear their throat behind Yamaguchi that you even notice there’s another person present. 

“Well, it _is_ getting kind of late.” Shimada looks Yamaguchi’s way with a smile, “Keishin told me about your game tomorrow, you should get some sleep beforehand. I’ll be rooting for you.” 

Your classmate nods resolutely, before thanking the older man. You turn away, knowing there’s no reason to stick around, but Yamaguchi is quick to catch up with you, offering to walk you home, which you easily agree to. 

~~~

You attend the volleyball game the next day, a practice match against some school you can’t quite identify. Staring out onto the court you instinctively look for Yamaguchi, but are shocked to find him beside a grey haired male on the sidelines. 

You recognize some people on the court as being in your grade, Yamaguchi’s tall friend, the short redhead, the scowling black-haired kid, and you can’t help but wonder if it hurts, seeing other people your same age playing while you stand to the side. You feel a bit sorry. 

You leave before the game ends, and it’s only when you see the black haired boy practicing in the shadows behind the convenience store another night that you realize you feel an inkling of admiration at his attempts. 

~~~

You attend a practice after that, curious as to how good your classmates actually are at volleyball (and still avoiding going home). It’s… understandable, as rude as that may sound, why Yamaguchi didn’t play. 

The black haired boy, Kageyama Tobio, you learn, and the bubbly redhead, Hinata Shoyo (you learn _that one_ by hearing Kageyama yell at him), are a talented pair, despite their bickering. Tsukishima, despite his _terrible_ attitude, is an admittedly good blocker, and the upperclassmen (as weird as they seem) are all talented despite their… quirks.

Yet you notice the familiar freckled boy in the corner, with the grey haired one from before. You notice Yamaguchi’s wince whenever the ball hits the net, or goes out of bounds, and you notice the determined expression on his face whenever the grey haired boy tosses the ball once again. It’s hard to look away. 

You leave early again, jogging to meet your brother at the edge of campus so you can walk home together, but you find Yamaguchi’s expression ingrained into your mind, unaware that, for a moment, his eyes were turned to your back as you left. 

~~~

“That girl’s been coming here a lot, don’t you think?” 

“What girl?” Tanaka and Nishinoya perk up at the idea of a cute girl attending their practice. 

Sugawara points in your direction, and Yamaguchi glances up, meeting your eyes before turning away to hide his warm face. 

“She’s been coming to stare at Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima snickers behind his hand, while the freckled boy’s betrayal is evident on his face. 

“Really? Is she your girlfriend?” Hinata doesn’t seem to notice his classmate’s peril, waving cheerily. 

“No!” 

“She’s been here multiple times in the past week,” Sugawara muses, “I wonder if she’s going to come to the game tomorrow.” 

“She’s your friend, though, right?” Hinata turns to Yamaguchi, “you should invite her!” 

Despite the fact that, _no, he should not invite you_ , the shy first-year finds his way up to the second floor of the gym, feeling the gaze of multiple teammates on his back. 

~~~

You wish Yamaguchi good luck at the end of the school day. He silently thanks you for waiting until _after_ Kei has left, because he’s certain he’d never hear the end of it from the blonde. 

“I’ll be there,” you answer his unspoken question, “I just wanted to make sure I could wish you luck before you’re too busy!” Your smile turns his ears red, and he tries his best to not sound like an idiot before running off to catch up with his tall friend. 

Your luck evidently doesn’t work, though the boy won’t hold it against you. In the end, his jump float serve just _isn’t good enough_. He tries to hide his tears until he’s home. It’s _hard_ to face Shimada later that night. 

~~~

You don’t watch volleyball practice for a week or so, but you _do_ make an effort to go on nighttime walks, passing the convenience store in hopes of hearing the familiar sounds: the volleyball hitting cement, the shuffling of feet, the words exchanged between Yamaguchi and his mentor. 

It’s a relief, you think, when you see Yamaguchi practicing. A little less so when you notice it’s nearly ten-thirty, and that his mentor has probably long since left. At the very least, you figure, he hasn’t lost his determination. 

“I’m goi- oh, [Name]-chan.” He cuts off, “I thought you were Shimada.” He isn’t meeting your gaze. “I can walk you home, if you’ll wait a minute.” 

You nod in assent, but the walk is quiet, awkwardly so. How do you tell him though, that you admire his resolve without sounding pitying?

~~~

It takes everything in you not to screech or run to the court to congratulate your friend for his successful rematch against Aoba Johsai. You know he, and the referee, would not appreciate your actions, so you resolve to instead shift in your place from foot to foot, a stupidly large grin making its way to your face. 

This of course, doesn’t stop you from running into Yamaguchi as soon as you spot him across the hall, nearly knocking him over as you wrap your arms around his taller figure. 

“[Name]-chan-” from over your head, he can see some of his teammates giving him knowing looks, with Tsukishima’s looking _particularly_ smug. He can feel his face heat up as he finds he can’t move his arms at all. 

“I’m so _proud_ of you!” You meet his gaze, one arm reaching up to ruffle his hair, while the other remains firmly hugging him. “I knew you could do it, especially after all that practice!” 

You leave, knowing that you’re embarrassing him, but only after making him promise to go get lunch with you. “My treat,” the smile is still wide across your face, “to celebrate.” 

“She sounds like a proud parent, doesn’t she?” 

“Tsukki!” 

“And it _really_ sounds like a date, doesn’t it?” 

~~~

You idly glance at the pond you and Yamaguchi have stopped in front of. 

“I’m sorry if I embarrassed you yesterday,” you pause, working up how to say what you’re thinking. 

“Oh no, it’s fine-” 

“I- I think you’re pretty cool, you know?” you can’t look him in the eye. “You might not think so, but you practiced so hard, even when most of your teammates had probably stopped, and it all really paid off. And I figured I wanted to tell you, but not in front of your friends because I didn’t really want to embarrass you. But I was thinking about it awhile ago, and I really admire your resolve… and uh, I think you can be really unfair to yourself sometimes, so I just wanted to remind you…” you don’t really know where to go from here. 

“ _Oh_.” He’s blushing, moving his mouth like he’s trying to formulate more words. 

You aren’t the best with words. It had taken you a long time to figure out how to verbalize your thoughts, not to mention the time it had taken to build up the courage to actually say them. 

But you know you meant every word. And later, when you enter a tentative relationship with the boy, you find yourself admiring him even more, happy his determination translates to being the best boyfriend he can. 

> 1 - The Magician: Resourcefulness, willpower, skill, concentration


End file.
